Gender
disparities in education was one of the major concerns of the
1990 Jomtien conference, and many African governments and organisations
have addressed this issue. The Association of Female Educators
of Gabon (A.F.E.G.) is an assembly of Gabon's women teachers
with the important mission is to guide and support young girls.
The association's honorary president is Mrs Paulette Missambo,
State Minister in charge of National Education and the Status
of Women.

In
1996, the result of research carried out by A.F.E.G. brought
to light the existence of failure, wastage and other difficulties
in girl's education. The study revealed that the problems were
related not to the level of access to education for girls, but
more to the level of schooling attained: at primary level, the
enrolment ratio for girls was 89%, but by the end of the secondary
cycle, it had dropped to only 7,20%. In other words, faced with
problems related to the image of women, early pregnancy, the
obligation of household tasks, and girl's vulnerability in general,
girls had difficulties in continuing and completing their studies.

Awareness
key to eliminating the gender gap

Confronted
with these facts, the A.F.E.G. took action towards supporting
girls' education, with the support of FAWE (Forum for African
Women Educationalists). These included:

Publication
in 1997 of a brochure for parents on how to supervise
their child's education, especially for the supervision
and accompaniment of girls;

Negotiation
with the Ministry of Education to make classrooms available
for evening tutoring of girls by women teachers, especially
for girls whose parents are illiterate;

Sensitisation
of parents and especially of fathers so that they will
help support their daughters' education. Traditionally,
it is the mother who assists children with their homework,
but the higher the level of education the girls attain,
the more help they need at a more advanced stage, and
thus it is the father who should assist. Likewise, the
mobilisation of parents so that they are interested not
only in the results but also in the process of learning
of their children;

Creating
crèches for women in difficulty in their neighbourhood.

The
association aims especially to raise people's awareness of
this important question. "This is necessary since during the
greater part of its history, Gabon did not particularly suffer
from gender disparities in education. It is only with the
economic crisis and the evolution of society's customs that
the disparity between women and men has increased." states
Ms Blandine Mefane, EFA Coordinator in Gabon.